The uncommon life realized – 2011 recap & lessons learned

In 2009, amid the economic downturn and uncertainty, I had the peculiar urge to set some large financial goals, which resulted in diving head first into the previously unfamiliar world of real estate investing. I moved to Phoenix, Arizona and worked tirelessly to learn years of real estate insights in 9 months as I bought, sold, and managed a growing portfolio of assets.

2010 was a year of methodical toil, building upon systems and information learned in 2009. Unfortunately, it was not without business turmoil. With my real estate business calculatedly set on autopilot, I returned to school to complete my ‘formal education’ and then quickly started this blog (then called, Learn, Earn, and Don’t Get Burned) as a coping mechanism and outlet for my numerous frustrations regarding conventional education.

In 2011, dissatisfied with the realists’ narrative of the ‘real world,’ I set out to test, challenge, and redefine what was ‘realistic’ – and what a year it’s been.

Developed the outline and rough contents for 3 more future books due for release in 2012.

Started work on the new Uncommon Life store due for launch in Q1 2012.

It’s certainly been a year of adventure, but not by accident. In an attempt to overcome my natural tendency to place rote work over pleasure, I set a liberating theme in January 2011: Adventure over comfort and convenience. As I wrote in this post:

“I recognized it’s all too easy to choose the path of least resistance – so easy, in fact, we often aren’t aware of when and how often we do it. It’s a paralyzing pattern to fall into. Too many people go through life hoping that adventure, excitement, and happiness finds them. Rarely, if ever, does this happen.”

You may not be able to account for and design everything that happens to you in life, but planning for excellence and adventure indisputably increases the odds of both. Realizing this, I have grown accustom to performing a year-end review and creating a plan for the year ahead. And this is some of the most important thinking I’ve ever done.

One of the most basic forms of analysis is discovering what’s working and what isn’t. And I’m happy to share some of these insights with you. After all, I’ve always believed that “the smart man learns from his mistakes, but the wise man learns from the mistakes of others” … here’s your chance to be the wise person.

What went well:

School: Bringing my college education to a close after 8 years of pin-balling between the classroom and my office was more than a relief; it was invigorating. Unfortunately, my college experience as a whole was underwhelming and frustrating, but I did learn a lot about productivity, how to recognize and adapt to systems, and how to apply atypical rapid-learning techniques. Graduating Magna Cum Laude was a testament to these unusual lessons. I have decided to outline and share these lessons in an upcoming book titled, The Uncommon Student (more details to come in 2012).

Lesson: When you fully apply yourself to a demanding objective, expect to discover some uncommon insights that cannot be learned otherwise.

Productivity: Looking back at 2011, I am pleased with what I was able to do while maintaining a healthy balance between work and leisure. I was always busy, but rarely felt overworked. There is a difference and it’s an important one. I did a much better job declining and/or ignoring extraneous tasks and projects so I could focus on what was most important.

Lesson: The silver lining of a busy life is that it forces us to reexamine our commitments, scrutinize our strategies, and seek maximum efficiency.

Travel: I was on the road A LOT – an important 2011 goal I had set for myself. In fact, the longest I had been in one city all year was 10 days, with the average being 5 days. My suitcase was my home away from home, but oddly enough, I loved it. Although this traveling was not a vacation for me, I learned that I prefer an ever-changing work environment. With the Internet and countless other devices, apps, and services, constant travel has become a real possibility.

Lesson: Mixing travel and work is more gratifying than setting aside rare and infrequent trips with the purpose of idle relaxation.

Technology: I used to believe I was simplifying my life by distancing myself from many technological devices, services, and programs. I was wrong. This past year I spent much of my spare time mastering all forms of technology and have since found myself consulting with individuals and small businesses to help boost productivity, eliminate stress, and simply make life more fun and interesting.

Lesson: Becoming technologically curious and competent maximizes efforts, saves time, and allows for, you guessed it, an uncommon life.

Balance: Working for yourself can be tough because there is no clock to punch, no external trigger to help one disconnect from work. In the past I frequently and severely burned myself out. This year I made an effort not to overextend myself in any one area proving that strong habits and ingrained tendencies can be overcome.

Lesson: Balance is about prevention, not damage control (read more here)

Health: Some people claim they can work consistently and creatively without exercise and a balanced diet. In 2010, I learned I am not one of them so this past year I made time for exercise and took every opportunity to eat right. This is one of the most important contributing factors to 2011’s productivity and happiness.

What didn’t go well:

Product launches: As you may have noticed, I really enjoy creating new books, among other things. If time allowed, I’d write a new book every month. Ideas and drive have never been my problem. My personal challenge is marketing what I create so others know they exist. Admittedly, I have not done a good job sharing the Maxims for Mavericks Manifesto and Be Uncommonly Productive with the world. One of the things I will be looking for in 2012 is someone who can help me share my goods and services with the world via a more effective and calculated approach (know someone who fits the bill?).

Lesson: I am a creator at heart, not a marketer. I need a helping hand with promotion.

25toLifeBlog.com: I love traveling and bending paradigms. I created this website/blog to merge these topics. I believe it has a lot of potential, but have decided not to launch the site at this time to avoid spreading myself too thin.

Lesson: Putting some projects on hold can be necessary in maintaining balance and delivering higher quality work in other areas.

Commentary and interaction: While I have enjoyed seeing thousands of visitors reading my blogs from around the world, I would like to increase reader interaction. As a way to encourage more comments, I’ll be experimenting with ways to make my posts more personal and personable. Do you have ideas here? If so, post them below.

Lesson: TBA

Posting frequency: Writing 2 books while maintaining 2 blogs and running 3 businesses is a challenge. I would like to post more than 1.75 times per month, but that would mean less content creation in the form of books and manifestos. I’m not sure how I feel about this, so why not ask you, the reader? What do you think about the frequency of my posting on TUL and M4M? Not enough? Just right? Too often? Do you prefer 500-1,000 word posts over longer, in-depth ebooks? Why?

Lesson: TBA

Going forward:

Overall, I am happy with decisions and experiences in 2011 and feel I made a solid effort to embrace my theme of Choosing adventure over comfort and convenience. While I am still searching for my 2012 theme, I remain convinced that selecting a theme is a very important part of creating an uncommon life.

But that’s enough about me. What went well for you? Any lessons learned? Have a theme for 2012? (Haven’t thought about it? Here’s an outline to help get you started.) Would love to hear all about it in the comments section below.

Great post – very helpful – thank you! You have accomplished so much – you are an inspiration!

Just a thought about your question re: book vs postings on MVM or TUL: – people are so busy today it’s easier for them to take information in in bite sized chunks.

So for example, I’d be more likely to read a quick posting here (because you already provide so much detail and value in your posts than to read another book.

I have so many books and ebooks with great intention to read them all – or have started them but not completed them. But I find myself spending more time reading through a handful of blog posts or short articles and still learn a ton of information – because they tend to be more current, are shorter and to the point, and because you are alerted to them (via social media postings).

Not to say books and ebooks are not incredible – i still love them, but I learn just as much in short bits and pieces and for some reason I think we all tend to do that more than open an ebook or regular book which requires more dedicated time to learn all of what you are supposed to be.

Thank you Jaxi. 2011 was a powerful year for me. I hope the same was true for you.

Good thoughts and feedback as well. Thanks for sharing Jaxi.

Nicicia January 1, 2012

I really do enjoy reading your blog, Kent, and everytime I see a new update appear in my inbox I cheer up, because I know the content will be worth the time it takes reading it, and it actually cheers me up. That is why I think that time between updates is just right, and the content is intersting and deep, and still relatively short.

I would love more in-depth books, though. I think you are a very fascinating person, and if you dissect your mind on the pages, I think you would have some nutritious food for thought to share.

I always got the impression you weren’t a marketer, Kent. Neither am I. I love my place in front of the drawing board (literally, as I write and draw my own graphic novel series) and marketing is something I would appreciate a partner to help with.

Thank you Nikki. Your words are the highest compliment a blogger can receive. Thank you for your continued interest and support. I have some more great things planned for 2012 so keep your eyes peeled. Looking forward to taking this uncommon journey through life together.

I have no idea how you write so many books but then perhaps it’s because you blog 1.75 times per month

Impressive year Kent and I’m glad I was able to catch up with you and your lovely wife on those few rare days you were actually at your home.

I think I share many of the lessons you’ve learned. I’ve embraced new technology to run my business and at the same time recognised it can be, in itself, a distraction if you let it. Accustomed to living out of a suitcase I’ve realised how important tools and applications are to being truly mobile as well as how travel can help you disconnect – i.e I’m really productive on planes with no internet.

The balancing act is one that’s become super important to me and taking a real holiday this December and losing my smartphone made me realise how important time out is.

I’m emailing you about the marketing part above as I really do think your work should be shared on a bigger stage my friend.

Hi Natalie. Thank you, as always, for your support. It’s been an eventful year and I have not plans to slow down for 2012. Hope to see you back in the states (or maybe I will visit my long lost home of New Zealand and see you there) in the new year. Looking forward to receiving your email.

About the blog

In a tone that is delightfully candid, this blog aims to break the trance of convention we often unknowingly accept, but intuitively reject. It's time to dehypnotize yourself and recalibrate to a new beat: Your own. With an intensive focus on quality (not quantity) you can expect occasional tips, thoughts, and reflections about topics such as success, productivity, education, life, and more. Read More

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